On Counter-terrorism Era Of National Self-defense Rights

The right of self-defense is the key exception to the principle on prohibition of use of force, and the only justification for the use of armed force by one state against another. Article 51 of UN Charter specifies the individual and collective self-defense. The traditional definition of the right of self-defense in customary international law occurs in the Caroline case.It is well established under international law that that self-defense is a state' s inherent right. The scope, threshold and restrictive mechanism of self-defense are still very controversial. After 9/11 terrorist attack, states rely on self-defense in response to terrorism and meanwhile raise news questions to be answered. The issues include whether terrorist acts constitute armed attack within the meaning of the Charter, whether terrorist acts can be imputed to the certain country, whether the victim state could exercise the right of self-defense to the terrorist group, and whether counter-terrorism acts should be accomplished in conformity with the principles of international humanitarian law.The purpose of this thesis is to study self-defense in the age of counter-terrorism. This thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter One analyses the characteristics of terrorism and the challenges raised to the right of self-defense. Chapter Two analyses the legal status and interpretation of Article 51 under UN Charter, and the Caroline principle in respect of customary international law. In the following three chapters, the author respectively makes a deep and detailed study of the threshold (armed attack), target (state and non-state actors) and restrictive mechanism (necessity, proportionality and compliance with international humanitarian law) of self-defense.This thesis not only studies basic theories of international law such as the right of self-defense, state responsibility, and international humanitarian law, but also analyzes the state practice on exercising the right of self-defense, especially for the purpose of counter-terrorism, after the establishment of United Nations.